FanHouse DavidRoss

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.

The Red Sox may have fallen short of the Rays in the AL East and in the ALCS in 2008, but despite the frustrating end to their season, they actually proved something quite significant and positive. The team that was once known mostly for a championship drought that spanned eight decades is now known as the premier franchise in baseball.

Boston has won the World Series twice since 2004 and been to the ALCS in four of the last six seasons. Perhaps more importantly, GM Theo Epstein has proven deft at mixing in new talent -- at providing stability while also keeping the roster fresh and young. Indeed, the Red Sox have won two championships with two almost entirely different groups of players.

That's going to be more important than ever going forward. The AL East has become a cruel beast and Tampa Bay, not Boston, has suddenly become the young, deep power in the division. With the Yankees looming as well, Epstein is going to have to keep working his magic. Get younger, Theo. Get better. Oh, and be a perennial World Series contender while you're at it.

This season hasn't gone well for Bronson Arroyo. After being one of the best starters in the NL last year and signing a big off-season extension with the Reds, Arroyo has watched his ERA jump nearly run and a half this season as he's fallen to 5-13 on the year. The Reds have to be wondering what's happening to their investment. Ken Griffey Jr. has an explanation; Arroyo is undead.

Last weekend in Pittsburgh, a bat found its way into the Reds dugout and Ken Griffey Jr. joked that it was Bronson Arroyo, who had turned into a vampire.

Arroyo, the Reds' rock-star pitcher, has the same aversion to the sun as nearly any guitarist or other creature of the night. So with a 1:05 p.m. start time Sunday against the Padres, Arroyo knew he was in for a struggle when he saw the rotation, never mind that the Padres' ace, Jake Peavy, was throwing against him.

"I always feel like it's going to be a battle when the sun's up," Arroyo said following the Reds' 10-4 loss to the Padres in front of 31,297 at Great American Ball Park.

Now obviously Arroyo cannot actually be a vampire because if he was, he'd burst into flames every time he walked out of the dugout ... though thinking about it now, that's kind of what happens every time he takes the mound this year. And what about this: after the Pirates released him, Arroyo has pitched for the Red Sox and the Reds. Of course red is the color of blood, the vampire's drink of choice. Coincidence? LOOK OUT DAVID ROSS!!!

So Ken Griffey Jr. made his return to Seattle yesterday, and everyone there loved him. That was a much, much warmer reception than A-Rod got upon his return to Seattle a few years back. After the big welcome back, the Reds beat the snot out of the Mariners and seemingly every Red got in on the beating except for Griffey himself, who went 1-for-5.

The Reds won the game 16-1, which according to SportsCenter matched the worst home defeat in Seattle history. Brandon Phillips went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored and hammered two homers. David Ross ripped two homers out of the nine slot in the order to go with his three runs scored and to give him five ribbies. Josh Hamilton also homered and Alex Gonzalez added three RBIs. The fact that Griffey only had one single was pretty irrelevant.

On the flip side of things, the Reds probably should've saved some runs for another night because Aaron Harang was dominant. He only allowed two hits and struck out seven in his eight innings of work. Even the worst team in the National League gets a night where everything clicks.

Previously at the FanHouse
They Still Love Ken Griffey Jr. In Seattle

Reds broadcaster Jeff Brantley mentioned during tonight's Phillies/Reds game that your chance of witnessing a triple play on a grounder to third base is about .0006%. This must mean that if you were at the Great American Ballpark on Saturday night, you should probably go ahead and play powerball.

David Ross, who is having a tough season at the dish, came up in the bottom of the fifth inning with runners on first and second with nobody out. When his turn at bat was done, it was already the top of the sixth as he grounded into the aforementioned rare 5-4-3 triple play during the Phillies 4-1 victory (Abraham Nunez, to Chase Utley, to Wes Helms).

Charlie Manuel shook up the lineup, batting Shane Victorino in the leadoff spot, and dropping Jimmy Rollins down to the third hole. It worked as the Phillies opened up the game with a two spot, then got some insurance with solo home runs from cleanup hitter Chase Utley (in the continued absence of Ryan Howard), and Aaron Rowand.

But let's face it: Manuel could draw the lineup out of a hat as long as Cole Hamels pitches like he did tonight, striking out 15 batters in his first ever complete game victory, striking out every lineup spot at least once. Hamels fell one strikeout shy of the Phillies' club record for a lefthander, a record held by none other than Steve Carlton. Of Hamels' 115 pitches, 82 were strikes. The young man is filthy.

I think this storyline has probably been beaten to death by just about everyone (myself included) the past couple weeks, but Aaron Harang lead the NL in wins and strikeouts last year, but got not one single Cy Young vote. That sucks a lot. Well, in order to redeem that, Reds catcher David Ross has decided to get the campaign underway early this year:

"Aaron is a guy who should have been the Cy Young winner last year," Ross said.

Asked by reporters if he knew that Harang did not garner a single vote, Ross said: "That's why I said that. I can't believe that. That guy is amazing. Year in and year out, he is never hyped up. And how many times did we not get him any runs?"

Harang did pitch well against the Cubs yesterday to garner his first win of the season and semi-redeem his awful opening day start last year, but man, award talk on April 3rd seems a bit premature. Right now I'm pretty sure Mark Grudzielanek is the American League MVP and Ben Sheets probably has a better case for NL Cy Young than Harang does. Thank goodness we have 161 more games to get these things sorted out.